Faction Battle

As for how Yang Yifei and Lu Weilou became the Alliance Leader and the Valley Master.

Gu Chengyin had once read about it in a briefing filed by the Ministry of Rites.

The description in the briefing was very concise: Elected internally to preside over daily affairs.

Thinking back on it now, there was a deliberate understatement hidden in the wording of that briefing.

It was just like those old foxes in the imperial court, who were accustomed to wrapping earth-shattering truths in mundane sentences.

For instance, describing a bursting dam as a slight overflow of the river channel, or a border clash as minor contact between soldiers.

Yet, coincidentally, neither of these two men had high cultivation; they had barely reached the initial stage of Foundation Establishment.

What did the initial stage of Foundation Establishment mean in the cultivation world?

It was merely the average level of an outer disciple of the Azure Sword Sect. In small and medium-sized sects, they might scrape by as deacons, but placing them in the Faction Wars, a place where young geniuses gathered...

It was like letting a county deputy command the Six Ministries.

Absurd.

But it was exactly this absurdity that brought the truth to the surface.

To sit securely in a high position without high cultivation left only two possibilities.

First, they held bargaining chips sufficient to keep experts in check.

Second, they were mere puppets, and the true masterminds were hidden out of sight.

Which one were Yang Yifei and Lu Weilou?

Perhaps both.

But the truth behind the scenes was rarely presented on paper; it had to be sought out by oneself.

That was why Gu Chengyin asked this question. Jiang Qingzheng answered:

"How should I put it about these two... they appeared out of nowhere. No one knows their origins."

"It was only later that we found out these two share a common designation in your imperial court."

"The Humble Faction."

Those few words, spoken so lightly, exploded into a completely new map in Gu Chengyin's mind.

No wonder Wang Gangfeng said he would accompany him.

No wonder the Humble Faction could stand as equals against the noble clans.

So this was where the root lay.

Yang Yifei and Lu Weilou sat at the highest points of the Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of Villains.

What they saw was what the Humble Faction saw.

What they controlled was what the Humble Faction controlled.

The movements of those young cultivators, the intentions of the major sects, the flow of resources, the rise and fall of factions...

All this intelligence would flow back to the Divine Capital through some secret channel, landing right on Emperor Luo's desk.

Previously, he had specifically asked Shangguan Yunying to build good relations with the Humble Faction after he left.

Now it seemed that he himself had spoken too little with Wang Gangfeng.

Gu Chengyin sat up straight and said, "I understand this matter now."

Jiang Jianli and Jiang Qingzheng exchanged a glance.

The message that needed to be passed on had been passed on. As for what Gu Chengyin would do, that was beyond their control.

The two cupped their hands in unison.

"Lord Jingzhe, Junior Preceptor Gu, we will take our leave first."

Gu Chengyin nodded, and the two retreated.

Obviously, this so-called Haoqi Alliance and Valley of Villains were an open scheme.

Even Alliance Leader Yang Yifei and Valley Master Lu Weilou were Emperor Luo's own planted men.

But Gu Chengyin completely understood this open scheme, because if he were in that position, he would have done the same.

Wherever there are people, there will be struggles.

If the energy and hot blood of these young cultivators were not consumed.

Then the ones to suffer would definitely be the innocent commoners of the Two Capitals and Thirteen Commanderies.

The best method was to have them fight for what was permitted to be fought over, within a designated circle, and according to established rules.

As for the world outside the circle? The hand behind the rules? The ambitions beyond what was allowed?

Those were not things for young people to think about.

Gu Chengyin couldn't help but recall an ironclad case recorded during the Ministry of Rites' past inspections.

In a certain small sect, three young disciples felt they were superior to mortals after stepping into cultivation, looking down on ordinary people.

They secretly went down the mountain, wantonly raping and pillaging, and even robbed the local tax silver, causing a massive uproar.

Ultimately, it drew the Heavenly Master Mansion to intervene personally, dispatching their Golden Core experts in full force.

They escorted these three superior beings, who were merely at the initial stage of Qi Condensation.

Parading them through every sect within the Great Luo borders before finally returning to their original sect to execute them by a thousand cuts.

When the Grand Secretariat discussed this matter at the time, someone lamented, "Young people are just too idle."

"If they had some proper business to attend to, they wouldn't go doing things like this."

From then on, the Great Luo cultivation world had the Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of Villains.

Faction Wars, was that proper enough?

Becoming world-renowned, was that hot-blooded enough?

Young cultivators advanced wave upon wave, slaughtering each other under the banners of the two great factions, watering the coldest political machinations with the purest of hot blood.

"Then build a stage for them to do it."

Gu Chengyin could almost see the look on Emperor Luo's face when he said those words.

Sitting high upon the imperial throne, fingers gently tapping the armrest, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

The ministers below respectfully bowed their heads; no one dared to ask: Your Majesty, what is the price of this stage?

The price was the lives of young people.

It was geniuses who could have changed the world, withering on a pre-set battlefield before they could even bloom.

It was the energy that should have been spent exploring the Great Dao, diverted onto the narrow path of mutual slaughter.

It was the potential of the cultivation world for the next hundred years, slowly draining away in year after year of internal friction.

But to Emperor Luo, these costs were worth it.

Because the cost of stabilizing order was even greater.

Moreover, through these young geniuses, he could indirectly manipulate all the cultivation sects.

The grudges formed in the Faction Wars would be brought back to the sects.

The rewards and resources gained in the Faction Wars would affect the balance of power among the sects.

The friendships or enmities forged in the Faction Wars would weave a cross-sect network of relationships.

And all of this would ultimately turn into strings in Emperor Luo's hands.

He didn't need to directly control every sect; he only needed to gently tug on these strings.

The entire cultivation world would react exactly as he wanted, like a marionette.

This was an open scheme.

It was also the Way of the King.

Emperor Luo laid everything out in the open, telling you exactly what he was going to do, yet you had no choice but to follow his script.

Because an open scheme relied not on trickery, but on the general trend of events and the desires of the human heart. It was a setup that could not be broken even if seen through.

Therefore, the major sects were completely helpless.

Gu Chengyin could imagine the feelings of those sect masters and elders. Of course they understood it; of course they knew this was Emperor Luo's calculation.

But what could they do? Forbid their disciples from participating in the Faction Wars?

Then the disciples would resent them for suppressing them, thinking that perhaps they had touched some young master's piece of the pie.

Not forbid them?

Then they would just watch helplessly as the young cultivators were absorbed into Emperor Luo's system of control.

The rules of the cultivation world were just like that: resources were finite, but competition was infinite.

If you don't fight for them, others will.

If your disciples don't stand out, other people's disciples will.

Then, a few decades later, your sect would decline, and another would rise.

So even knowing it was poison, they still had to drink it.

They had to drink it with a smile, and they had to tell their disciples that this was divine nectar, and drinking it would be good for them.

Coupled with the rewards in the Faction Wars, high-tier cultivation methods, top-grade pills, rare materials, and even the occasional fragments of Heaven-tier magical treasures.

To the disciples of those small and medium-sized sects, these were things they might never come into contact with in their entire lives.

The temptation was too great.

Great enough to make people forget the danger, great enough to make them ignore the calculations behind it all.

Just like the bait a fisherman hangs on a hook: the fish see the plump food, but they do not see the sharp hook.

Gu Chengyin completely understood now.

The significance of him, a descendant of the Immortal Clan, to the Great Luo cultivation world.

The current balance was one where no one could do anything against anyone else.

The Righteous Alliance and the Valley of the Wicked kept each other in check, the Righteous and Demonic paths held each other at bay, and the great sects were deeply wary of one another.

All forces were deadlocked at a delicate tipping point, with no one daring to act rashly.

A single careless move could trigger a chain reaction that would ultimately lead to their own ruin.

It was a fragile stability.

And the heir of the Immortal Race was the very variable destined to shatter this fragile peace.